Cardinals Enter ’26 Season with New Faces; Opportunities for Younger Players

Photos by Hannah Tacy & Henry Black, JTV Sports

David Rice | JTV Sports

Friday August 21st

(8-21-2026, 4:00PM): After a historic 10-2 record with a regional final appearance last year, the Michigan Center Cardinals enter the 2026 campaign with plenty of new faces and opportunities for younger players to make a name for themselves.

After a 4-5 record in 2024, Michigan Center turned things around last season. They finished the 2025 campaign with a 10-2 record, winning its first district title since the 2021 state semifinal team. MC also won the Cascades-East division before falling to Hanover Horton in a thrilling conference championship game.

Head Coach Troy Allen is entering his 15th season at the helm of the Cardinals, and will also once again call the offense. “Our team will look a lot different this year,” said Allen. “Our seniors last season were an extremely talented group, and we relied heavily on them both offensively and defensively. This season brings a lot of opportunities for guys who have patiently been waiting their turn to make a difference on the field.”

Korey Stewart returns as the defensive coordinator, and almost the entire staff has been there for several years and has turned the team into a second family. “It’s hard to single anyone out as they are all great at what they do. They have all been with me for a long time and are truly my second family”, said Allen.

Key players for the Cardinals this season include senior QB Tre Collins, who already has experience under center. Collins stepped in at QB as a freshman due to injuries, and once again stepped in during his sophomore season and ended up being named all-conference. Collins was an all-region wide receiver last season and will return to the quarterback position this year. Other key players include senior lineman Holden Dean, who is possibly the strongest player in the program’s history, and senior Braylen Villareal (LB) who broke the MC single season record last year with 157 tackles.

Speed and quickness will be a key strength of the Cardinals this season, while many new players up front may cause growing pains to begin the season. MC opens up the schedule at Onsted, a team that made the playoffs at 4-5 last season. Two other marquee games on their schedule include a big conference bout with Leslie, and a week nine non-league game vs D2 Mattawan.

2026 Michigan Center Football Schedule:

(all games at 7pm unless noted)

Thursday 8/27 @ Onsted

Thursday 9/3 vs Columbia Central

9/11 @ Manchester

9/18 vs Leslie

9/25 @ Vandercook Lake

10/2 @ Napoleon

10/9 vs Grass Lake

10/16 vs TBD (Cascades Conf. Crossover)

10/23 vs Mattawan